And so it begins: The inevitable Conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, certain conspiracy theories have popped up across the Internet which is to be expected. It always happens. But, I’ve noticed that some are concentrating on the father’s facial reaction at a press conference after his daughter’s death, which displays a nasty assumption on their part.

Watch:

The father smiled at one point. Have the folks behind this video never lost anyone close? A person left behind goes into shock. The first time I lost someone close, I smiled a few times. After his death, I still expected to hear the sound of his motorcycle’s engine while pulling up front; then his footsteps running up the stairs two at a time. It would all be a bad joke. A really bad joke. I laughed inappropriately in between fits of sobbing. We are all different but our minds and bodies cope with grief in different ways . We lived on the top two floors of an apartment-ish building. Sounds from outside carried in. Whenever I heard the sound of a motorcycle, I was sure it was him. I had forgotten that I carried a certain moniker: widow. That can’t be. I was too young. I was still in love. So, for months I would look outside the window every single time I heard that familiar sound. And sometimes I smiled. Inappropriately.

But as a parent it must be worse. You’re a parent for life. There is no ‘in love’ or ‘divorce.’ A parent is always supposed to be a parent.

The father of the young child is too young. Any parent is. A child should outlive their parents. America in the most part, saw that press conference. The video creator takes issue with Dad reading from his notes. I’m sure Dad never expected to have to give an interview in front of countless media cameras, with the world watching, all because his little girl was shot dead.

Leave the grieving father alone. Does anyone believe — really believe — that a man would allow someone to kill his little girl simply to implement gun control?

I’ve noticed conspiracies flying on Twitter and other sites. It’s not pretty. Get your head our of your ass. Have some respect for the families left behind. I’m sure they’re suffering from Survivor’s guilt as it is. Don’t add to their grief.

Idiots, and really? First, the MOST this would prove, at worst, is this one guy is cold enough to smile at something like that, not that it didn’t happen or he ’caused’ it. (And really, there were 20, how do they explain everyone else? (I have some family who does the ‘laugh during tragedies’ thing, it’s a not uncommon nervous tic.)

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000205474086 Jim Hubbard

That seems to be how the right wing copes with a national tragedy where policies that the right wing champions with vocal support by ideologues makes them in some part culpable for the tragedy. The denial creates a need to invent conspiracies to shift attention from the real causes because deep down inside, they know the policies they’ve supported are wrong. It’s easy for someone to say they believe that guns are the solution to everything from behind a keyboard on Facebook, but it’s another thing to consider that six and seven year old children died a horrific death at the hands of someone who had access to those weapons because his mother believed the same thing as them.

http://twitter.com/Anomaly100 Anomaly One Hundred

How very true, and that makes this all the more tragic. Our gun culture propagated by lobbyists and self interests groups will never take responsibility for their part is shocking events such as this.

03fifefly

This isn’t a right wing, left wing thing. Both those on the right and those on the left have done this; with 9/11 and now with this. I do identify myself as republican, but I would never even consider this conspiracy logical. It’s a terrible waste of time for these people and is very insulting to those who have lost loved ones. I felt the same way about 9/11.

Benchkey

There is a difference between a pained smile and a happy smile. The father had the latter. He is a shill, and this crime/tragedy is a false flag operation. If you can’t see it then you are hypnotized by the media.

http://twitter.com/Anomaly100 Anomaly One Hundred

Citation necessary. Do you have a degree in psychology ?

sarahsampson00082

It’s crazy to hear conspiracy theorists discuss their philosophies about this incident as if they are uncovering factual evidence. I have to admit that I’ve read about 9/11, Monsanto, the Federal Reserve and JFK’s assassination with interest. But watching people quickly jump to conclusions and throw non evidence based theories up to support their quirky ideas when we are all watching the same news (and that appears to be their only source of information) really makes me begin to question the sanity of it all. Seems that rather than uncover facts they’ve started out believing it’s a conspiracy and are looking for any proof to back their theories. I’m not typically mainstream but paying close attention to the hatching of ideas from detractors has really made me stop and wonder if these people really aren’t out of touch with reality. It is not just questioning what they’re being told. At some point, it is questioning what they’re being told even when there is a logical rational behind what they’re being told. That’s what makes them out of touch. I understand that some people can’t deal with how harsh life can be. But by refusing to face harsh realities they are in fact sweeping the truth under the carpet and until we face what’s truly wrong, we cannot make it right. By propagating conspiracy theories they are avoiding the real issues and they are doing a disservice to our country.

http://twitter.com/Catbird55 Armando H. Corbelle

In a perverse way, conspiracy theories may give some more comforrt than the cold reality that lives were taken by a severely disturbed young man. Those lives taken include his and that of his mom as well the 26 Sandy Hook Elementary victims. There’s no conspiracy; there’s just the intersection of a highly troubled mind with easy access to guns. Our society as a whole is skeptical about diagnoses of mental illness and treat those who suffer from them with far less compassion than those wth physical illnesses. Until we overcome that prejudice, more and more of these irrational and unspeakable acts will continue to occur.

Anon…

sarahsampson00082 –> I couldn’t agree more. I live very close (just minutes) from Newtown and my father works with one of the parents of the victims. It’s a horrible situation and it’s understandable that these families react in a very different way when there are news cameras in their faces. They are not actors (though they kind of have to be when speaking on national news). They are in shock and haven’t had a chance to grieve properly (in privacy). Tragedies of this magnitude rarely, if ever, happen in these types of towns. That is why the news and media make such a big deal out of them and spend less time reporting on these kinds of tragedies in other countries. I can understand where the anger comes from. Yes, the way news is reported is horrible and we never see news coverage like this of similar events in other countries (which are, of course, all equally tragic and morbid). And I do agree that the media filters out a lot and covers up some key parts of the story (and that is perhaps why these events may seem less real to someone living, say, a thousand miles away and who is getting all of their evidence from, well, the news). The “news” must, for its own sake, maintain a certain standard when reporting these stories, so there are always going to be discrepencies between what the news says about the tragedy and what really happened. Yes, the news sensationalizes pretty much everything (which is sad, considering how horrible the situation actually is… they have turned it into what must appear from the outside like a film plot or something…truly awful.). I know these people and we are not part of some plot or conspiracy. And trust me… I’ve learned to question the government more and more over the years. There are certainly some theories and ideas out there that have credibility. But I agree that some people take these conspiracy theories WAY too far. To say that nobody died and nobody was hurt… it breaks my heart. I completely agree that the news/media skews the facts quite often and sensationalizes many of the stories we read about, but that’s exactly why we need to use our common sense and stop believing everything we read (duh?). People need to get off the internet, turn off the TV and realize that they are out of touch with reality (like you said).

Samantha

Full evidence that this is a hoax. If this evidence doesn’t make you believe that this is a hoax then please try to explain to me that this REALLY did happen…..